Tag: group meetings

I am a coffee enthusiast. I love the smell, the taste, the look, the feel, and even the sound of all the different kinds of brewers. You may be thinking “okay, this guy isn’t an enthusiast…he’s an addict”. Fair enough – either definition will work.

Anyways, regardless of whether or not you love coffee like I do, coffee shops are an important part of the collegiate experience. They are very popular places to go for group meetings, completing individual assignments, and to just pick up a tasty wake up call after a late night of studying. As today is National Coffee Day, I thought it would be so appropriate for me to grab a cup of coffee and write about the coffee scene on campus and in Columbus.

We’re really kind of spoiled when it comes to coffee on campus. Almost every library has its own coffee shop inside. Thompson has the Berry Cafe, the SEL (Science and Engineering) has the Tera Byte Cafe, and Mason (business library…newly renovated!) has the Rohor Cafe. On top of that, so many other buildings all across campus also have coffee shops inside, so no matter where you are you can get your fix! We’re talking the RPAC (at both Courtside and Juice 2), McPherson (a chemistry lab), the Law school, Med school, Vet school, Hagerty Hall, Marketplace on Neil, the Union, and the Knowlton School of Architecture.

What’s more is not all of these locations serve the same kind of coffee, so you can pick and choose based on your preferences. My personal favorite, Crimson Cup (a Columbus based shop!), is sold at the Berry Cafe, the Tera Byte Cafe, Marketplace on Neil, the Union, and the Knowlton School of Architecture. The new Rohr Cafe at Mason serves Starbucks, as does McPherson, the Law School, Med School, and Vet School. Hagerty Hall’s Crane Cafe serves Brennen’s (I am fairly certain, though I haven’t been in a long time) and the RPAC cafes serve Seattle’s Best. Quite the variety you can pick from!

But there comes a time when you or your group just needs to get off campus to get your work done. You want a place to work that’s close, has a friendly and fun environment, but will still allow you to finish your work. Sounds like you’re looking for a coffee shop! You’re in luck – there are so many coffee shops located off campus that make great meeting/work spaces.

To the north of campus, in Clintonville, is Crimson Cup (my personal favorite!). Located on High Street, Crimson Cup is just north of Henderson road and thus easily accessible to students. (I suggest biking or taking a bus.)

Another great place to check out is Caribou Coffee. There are four of these located close to campus…one to the north in Clintonville and three to the west of campus. One of these to the west is on Lane Avenue, one is on Zollinger, and the third is in Grandview. The Grandview location is probably the largest of the four and thus best suited for group work.

A fan favorite everywhere is Starbucks, and yes, Columbus has Starbucks. There are some right on High street in the campus area (High and 14th), as well as locations in Clintonville and the Lennox shopping center.

Another local specialty is Staufs. Staufs is in Grandview and makes one good cup of coffee…I would highly recommend checking them out. This location also has larger tables and a slightly younger clientele, making it a great place for college students to be!

The Lennox shopping center, aside from the Starbucks I mentioned earlier, houses a Cup O Joe too. I haven’t been here in a very long time, but I do know that Staufs and Cup O Joe recently came under the same ownership, so it must be good! There is also a Cup O Joe in Clintonville on High Street.

Finally, in the immediate campus area (aka on High Street) you will find Brennen’s. Brennen’s makes a solid cup of coffee, but can get very busy due to its proximity to campus. Definitely stop in and give them a try though!

There are many more coffee shops in Columbus that I’m forgetting to mention (sorry guys!), and some of them are very close to campus! Believe it or not, some of the shops not mentioned are shops I have not tried, but I do plan to soon.

SO: Whether you guzzle down the caffeine to stay awake, drink coffee to enjoy the taste, or just need a place to study, Columbus has you covered. There will definitely come a time in your stay at Fisher that you’ll want a cup, and as you can see now, the choices are almost endless.

What new habit I could establish living a busy life in grad school, you might ask. Meetings! Taking four classes implies that I have four groups, one for each class, and a typical week can be like the one I just had.

Thursday evening, my first group meeting of the week as my simulation group decided to switch our regular meeting to Thursdays. We were told that the study room GE R237 was reserved for us. Our group members spent some time searching for that mystery Room 237, with R236 and R238 found but never was another room seen in between. As a result we had to compete with the P&G Case teams—they competed for the prize we competed for a room—and we managed to occupy a medium lecture room for our discussion. As the end of the simulation competition approaches, our company confronted increasing challenges. One night was not enough, and “let’s meet again on Friday morning”.

Friday, our simulation team stayed at the same spot for 6 hours until we finally felt the decision we made was reasonably reliable. We had some Chinese food together afterwards.

Saturday, meeting for the AMIS824 memo at Laura Anne’s place. Laura Anne’s cookies were great, and her hamster Beevo likes me. Working hard and being efficient, we were able enjoy the football games after our meeting.

Sunday, two in a row. Meeting my AMIS804 crew at 2pm, and we were done in half an hour, a new record! I stayed for another meeting with the FIN811 group. And there came the highlight of the week, we figured we were really ahead of time—the professor’s instruction for the case was not available yet. Meeting was canceled. Class dismissed.

Meeting with groups is no longer simply meeting for projects and homework. It has blend in with my daily life. It can be part of hanging out with friends, having dinner or sharing snacks, and even fun and games. Sometimes I even do it without a project base, like the one I mistakenly called for on Sunday. That’s why I said meeting with groups has become a habit of mine.